


when we're together

by irishmizzy



Category: Disney RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-15
Updated: 2010-08-15
Packaged: 2017-10-11 02:32:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/107396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irishmizzy/pseuds/irishmizzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They both just got out of relationships and they're in really weird places right now and whatever, it doesn't <em>mean</em> anything. It's totally casual.</p>
            </blockquote>





	when we're together

**Author's Note:**

> Not real at all, no disrespect. For [nothing_hip](http://community.livejournal.com/nothing_hip/profile)'s "I Think We're Alone Now" challenge.

Selena's never been the girl who like, defines herself by her relationships. So when the rest of the world starts doing exactly that and everywhere she goes she's Nick Jonas's girlfriend! and Demi Lovato's best friend! and Miley's mortal enemy! it gets obnoxious real fast. Can't she just be herself?

"What? I wasn't listening," David says. He tosses the ping pong ball to her side of the table; she doesn't catch it before it rolls off.

"Never mind." She fetches the ball, bounces it once on the table. "How's Lucy?"

He shrugs. "You know. How's Nick?"

She shrugs and serves the ball. She knows.

**

The thing about dating Nick is that he's pretty amazing. He's funny and low-key and friends with her best friend and he's great. She really does like him. And now that JONAS is filming she actually gets to see him sometimes, as opposed to like, texting him while he's in Georgia and she's in LA.

"Weren't you going to hang out with Nick today?" Demi says, leaning over the edge of the couch to peer at Selena.

"He was busy." It's not a lie, really. It's what Nick said when he texted her. It's what Nick always says when he texts her.

Demi opens her mouth and then closes it again, frowning, her forehead all crinkly. She opens her mouth again like she's figured out what she wants to say, but Selena turns up the volume and pretends she's really interested in the dinner party Whitney's throwing on _The City_.

Dating Nick means making a lot of excuses, is the other thing. It's not that he's _not_ busy, because he is, it's just -- sometimes Selena thinks that if he really cared, he'd make time. And that if _she_ really cared, she'd want him to, or she'd, like, make the time herself. But whatever, they're both fine with how things are. And it's cool. It really is. She wouldn't want a high-maintenance thing right now anyway. God, she wouldn't want it ever. So yeah, this thing with Nick is kind of perfect for now.

"I think I want to move to New York someday," she says. The skyline is amazing, all lit up and dramatic behind Whitney's balcony. It seems so alive, even in the middle of the night. Calm, but not.

"I think we should," Demi says, like it's a forgone conclusion that they'll go together. Which it kind of is, because what's the point if you're leaving your best friend behind?

Demi starts listing all the different things they'll do once they're on their own together. Selena almost forgets that her boyfriend bagged on their plans for the third time in a row.

**

It sucks because when she and Nick _do_ find the time to hang out it's always bordering on super-awkward. That plus the stupid paparazzi following them around like they're the only people left on Earth is just. Ugh. Selena liked Nick because he was fun and easy to hang out with and hilarious in a mellow way. Now there's nothing mellow, ever. It's all fraught with tension and people trying to figure out if she stole his Costello shirt and Nick getting twitchy every time she says she'll call him, and what's up with that? It's not like she's saying she'll marry him or something, jeez.

But whatever, she's over it. It's not like her life's been any easier lately. It's just -- things are complicated.

"Would you stop moping?" Demi says. They're sprawled on Demi's bed, catching up on all the Gossip Girl they haven't had time to watch this year. Apparently Selena hasn't been paying enough attention to all the reasons Demi wants to be more like Vanessa -- in a good way, she keeps saying, not in an annoying, climbing in through your window, hanging out with your dad way. See? Selena's totally listening. Not moping at all.

"Hey. You. Sir Mopes-a-lot." Demi throws a popcorn kernel at Selena's head. She misses by a mile and it bounces off Selena's stomach and over the edge of the bed. Selena snags it off the floor and eats it anyway. Totally within the five second rule.

"I am not moping." She's totally not, she's just thinking, is all. Demi makes a face and Selena makes one right back. "Shut up, loser."

"You're the loser."

"No, you're the loser." They kick at each other, laughing, until the bowl balanced on Demi's lap almost falls onto the floor. They're still laughing when Selena shifts closer to Demi, resting her head on her shoulder. Demi wriggles around, slumping lower so it's less awkward. Selena pulls the popcorn bowl closer to her and curls tighter against Demi's side. They stay like that for a long time, quiet and comfortable.

"Do you think there are people with real lives like this?" Demi asks, pointing at the TV. This episode's about a fashion show or something -- maybe Selena hasn't been paying enough attention -- and everyone's fighting with everyone else, as usual.

Selena shrugs. "Probably. You've seen some of the psychos out here." Demi hums in agreement. On the screen, Poppy tells Serena not to hide her light and Sel thinks that if she lived in Gossip Girl, she'd be the Serena. And Nick is the Blair, except kind of lame instead of evil. And Selena doesn't need to waste her life on lame.

"I think I'm going to break up with Nick." Selena's kind of thinking out loud, but once she says it, it feels right. She tilts her head, checking to see if Demi heard her. She must have, because makes this face, like she's completely unsurprised. A part of Selena wants to ask if he said anything the last time they hung out, but she doesn't. No use picking at the scab.

**

She does it the next time she sees him. It takes longer that way, because it takes a while for their schedules to sync up, but she doesn't want to do it over the phone. She doesn't need that kind of press. In the end, they don't make a big deal about it. Nick hugs her afterwards, mumbles something about still being friends. Selena thinks that's probably code for please don't write a song about how much you hate me. Which she wouldn't, but mostly because she doesn't hate him.

"Yeah, of course" she says. Because they kind of have to -- there's Demi and work and they're still gonna have to be together. Nick smiles faintly, relieved, and Selena squeezes his arm. And then that's it. Just like that, it's all over.

It kind of sucks how uneventful the whole thing is. Like, did he even like her at all? It makes for a weird couple of weeks; she's mopey but not, just kind of non-specifically sad. It's totally lame. It helps to have Demi around pretty constantly. They hang out with Taylor and Miley a lot, which sends the paparazzi into a tizzy, of course, and it's fun, this extra shot of girl power, but a part of her feels... blah. She doesn't know how to describe it other than that. She's just blah.

**

"Ooooh, this one says that you're distraught and in seclusion." David tilts his computer towards her so she can see the screen. Selena nods absently. "You're not even looking."

She looks up, staring at his computer for a longer time than necessary. He needs to get over his stupid ocean-up addiction or whatever. Reading all this can't be healthy. "Selena Sad Over Nick," she reads, bored. "Wow." She pulls apart another Twizzler and ties the strand into a knot that she can bite off. David rolls his eyes and sets his giant Starbucks cup on the coffee table.

"There are, let me see, five -- no, wait, six -- six posts about you today."

"Excellent," she says, biting off another knot.

"Selena Gomez and Nick Jonas: True Love Ends," he reads in this high-pitched voice. "Ooh, I didn't know it was true love." She knows he's gearing up for something big -- he always gets that lilt in his voice when he's making fun of her. He turns sideways on the couch and points at the screen, grinning with his big, dumb mouth and suddenly a part of her feels like she's going to cry. She doesn't even know why. The whole Nick thing has been so low-key and it was a while ago and ugh. She needs to get over it.

She ties three knots into the licorice strand and blinks a few times, bracing herself for whatever comes next. But then David just kind of stops, stuttering over his words for a second, and then all of a sudden he's telling her about his badass new car, oh my god, he cannot wait until it's finished, they're totally going for a drive as soon as it's done because it is so effing awesome it'll blow her mind. He just talks and talks and talks and lets her listen until she forgets about stupid Nick and his boring face and how lame it is to be sad for something you never really cared that much about in the first place.

**

After that, David doesn't bring Nick up that much. He doesn't even read ocean-up when she's around, which is nice of him, even though all that means is that there are still stories about her everywhere. Oh well, whatever. That's the price of fame. At least people aren't spazzing every time she posts a picture to her MySpace.

And besides, things are really busy, busier than before, even -- they're wrapping Wizards and she's working on her album and she's talking to Taylor and Jonathan like a million times a day, so she wouldn't have time to think about anything else even if she wanted to. Which she doesn't.

**

David breaks up with Lucy like, a week before Valentine's Day, which. God. He is such a _moron_. But at least he didn't do it _on_ Valentine's Day. Or, like, the day before. But whatever, that's not -- the point is that he broke up with Lucy, like, right before they're supposed to leave and Selena doesn't even know what to say. He hasn't even technically _told her_ yet, but she knows. Of course she knows. She's heard from five different sources and only one of them was online.

Ugh. If he's a mopey bitch in Puerto Rico, she is seriously going to kill him. This is supposed to be a fun trip.

**

He shows up at LAX with a duffel bag of clothes, his guitar, and whatever's in his carry-on. He does not look so hot.

"Did you even sleep?" she says, and his glare is enough to shut her up. Once they're through security she grabs Jake and says, "C'mon, let's go find... something. This is going to be a long flight."

When they get back, armed with a stockpile of candy and magazines and Starbucks that should theoretically last them at least a week in Puerto Rico but probably won't make it off the plane, David's passed out in one of those uncomfortable chairs at the gate. She sits next to him -- it's there or by Peter, and she loves Peter, but even she thinks it's a little early to talk shop -- and tries to be as quiet as possible.

That plan goes out the window as soon as she takes a sip of her coffee, which holy moly, how is it still that hot? She hisses and flails for a second, and that's enough to jostle David awake.

"Sorry," she whispers, making a face. David blinks sleepily at her, like he's trying to register her presence. He moves in his seat, shifting closer to her, wrapping a hand around her arm and pulling her lower in her chair so he can rest his head on her shoulder. He pats her arm twice, _stay_, and slips back into sleep. Selena switches her coffee cup to her other hand and tries to stay still until they announce it's time to board.

**

Puerto Rico is awesome. It's eighty degrees and sunny and she can see the ocean from her room and that's all Selena cares about right now. How can something like this be work?

She texts Demi a picture of the pool from her hotel balcony, she doesn't even care that the picture's barely visible through the glare of the sun. Besides, that's kind of the point, isn't it?

_4oclock smoothie break?!_ Dem sends back. They did that all the time during _Princess Protection Program_ filming. Selena wishes she were here.

She doesn't want to get all bogged down with that, though -- no sense being sad in Puerto Rico, right? This is supposed to be like a vacation. A vacation with work thrown in, but it's still far away from home and all the stupid real-life stuff that makes her feel so tired all the time. She's too young to be that kind of tired. At least that's what her mom keeps telling her, frowning over the kitchen island whenever Selena yawns and pours herself a cup of coffee.

"I'm going for a walk," she yells, stuffing her phone and her key into her pockets. She waits until her mom yells something that sounds like "Okay!" through the doors connecting their rooms to leave.

Selena ends up outside David's room; she figures if anyone'll be up for exploring, it'll be him.

"Yikes," she says when she opens the door. His eyes are red and bleary and his hair's sticking up in all different directions. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." She must look really incredulous because his voice gets all high when he says, "It's just jet lag!"

"Huh," is all she says to that. "Well, I was going to see if you wanted to like, find the pool and hang out but... Maybe you should take a nap instead?"

He opens his mouth to protest but he starts coughing instead. Jet lag her ass. God, if he gets her sick she is going to kill him. And then Peter is going to kill her for killing David _and_ for being sick while they're filming on location.

Selena takes a step back, out of germ-range. When David stops hacking she punches him in the shoulder gently. "Get some sleep, champ."

He laughs and tries to shove her away but she's quicker, snaking out of his reach and down the hall. Jake'll probably be game for exploring. And if not, she can go it alone.

**

David slumps into his seat next to her at table read the next morning. "I'm think I'm sick."

She leans away. "I thought you were jet lagged."

He makes a face, pathetic and sad and annoyed all at the same time. "Selenaaaaaa."

She sighs. "That sucks. I'm sorry."

He leans in, his head angled towards her just so. She instinctively reaches out, feeling his forehead with the inside of her wrist.

"Hot," she says, frowning.

"I know, but do I have a fever? FOCUS SELENA."

She flicks his forehead, laughing. "Dork."

For a minute he laughs, too, and then he sighs heavily and drops his head onto the table. Selena resists combing her fingers through his hair. She settles for patting his back instead, rubbing small little circles until everyone shows up and it's time to work.

**

Her sympathy lasts less than twenty-four hours. That's how long it takes for him to shift from pathetic to whiny.

"Seleeeeena, I'm booooooooored."

"I don't know what you want me to do about it," she says, flipping through the channels.

"Come hang out with meeeeeee."

"Can't. I'm busy."

She can practically hear him roll his eyes, which is impressive since two minutes ago he was complaining about having a headache so bad he thought his eyes were going to fall out of his head. "You are not."

"Am too."

"Are not."

"Am too."

"Pleaaaaaaaase."

Selena frowns at her TV. He's not going to stop until she caves. "Fine. I'll be there in five minutes." He's been coughing all over the place since they got here and he probably got sick from the plane, so chances she's getting it are already good.

"Awesome," he says. "Hey, can you bring me some orange juice? The good kind."

She grits her teeth. "Anything else?"

"Well..."

He has a list. Of course he does.

**

"Tomorrow night," he says, poking her in the side, "tomorrow night we're going out to dinner."

"To make it up to me?" She's been spending a lot of time lounging around in his room, putting up with him whining and coughing and trying to explain Twitter to her no matter how many times she tells him she does. not. care.

He winks. "You know it."

Selena rolls her eyes and pushes her toes into his thigh. He acts like she's kicked him in the kneecap. When she doesn't react he rolls off the bed and heads for the bathroom. Probably to take the shower he's spent the last hour claiming he desperately needs. That's probably her cue to go.

"Hey." He pokes his head out the door just as she's getting up. "Pick a movie, it's your turn. Just not something that's completely lame."

She can see his torso in the mirror, the way his boxers are low on his hips. Everything's reflecting from the bathroom mirror into the closet mirror outside the door, creating an infinity of undressed David's. Selena looks away quickly.

"I'll pick whatever I want," she grumbles, reaching for the remote.

She's watching the first _Pirates of the Caribbean_ when David comes out of the shower and falls onto the bed next to her, unnecessarily close. There are still droplets of water clinging to his neck, along his hairline. His shirt's damp in spots, too.

"Ugh, move over." She tries to shoulder him out of the way but he's dead weight, so she just gives up and watches the movie. David's asleep before the next commercial break, his head tipped against her arm, heavy and warm. She stays still until the movie ends, and then she eases out from under him and quietly pads back to her room, acutely aware of his phantom warmth along the side of her body when she crawls into bed.

**

David's better by the time they start actually filming, thank god. He was annoying enough when they had to sit through table reads, she can't imagine putting up with him acting like he was dying while they were trekking through the jungle together.

Of course that means the day _after_ they start filming, Selena gets sick. She sneezes three times in the middle of their stupid "Say 'paradise!'" family picture and brushes it off as allergies, but by the end of the afternoon her head feels it's being crushed.

Maria frowns and pushes Selena's hair back from her cheeks. "You should be in bed, mi hija."

"I will. Soon," Selena promises. They're almost done for the day, she'll be fine until then. Maria looks skeptical but nods and leaves her alone.

When she's gone, Selena turns on her heel. "This is all your fault," she says, poking David in the chest.

He looks like he's about to say something, but Lev claps his hands to get their attention and he never says it.

**

It's Puerto Rico's stupid rainy season. That's what Selena's gathered from their time here so far. So at least if she's stuck in her room, trying to sleep off this plague thing, it's not like she's missing too much. And it could be worse, because she's sick but only to the point where she feels crappy and doesn't want to do anything. She's not dying, at least not like David was.

So there's that.

Plus David clearly feels bad about getting her sick because he keeps coming over and hanging out with her when they're done shooting for the day, doing all the things he'd normally complain nonstop about, like being quiet and not trying to read over her shoulder while she texts Demi and not stopping on _Another Cinderella Story_ when he sees it's on TV. It's nice, even if it is a little weird to see him so reserved. Whatever, she's not looking the gift horse in the mouth.

"Hey, I like that one," she says one evening as he's blowing through the channels and checking his phone at the same time. She elbows him until he looks up.

"Huh?"

"Go back." She waves her hand and he starts flipping backwards until she says, "There, stop."

"Good?" he asks, turning the volume up. Selena nods and slumps further onto the bed. He smiles at her before he goes back to his stupid Twitter thing. At least that's what she assumes he's doing; it's his new favorite thing. He could just be texting people. He could be texting Lucy for all she knows; maybe they're back together already.

"Hey." She waits for him to stop typing but by then she's lost it. She shakes her head. "Never mind."

"Might want to go easy on the Nyquill, Mizz G. It's making you --" He twirls his finger by his temple. It's making her loopy.

"Shut up," she says, laughing. But maybe it is.

David takes a sip of his soda and frowns. "Hey," he says, "I'm gonna go get some more ice. You'll be fine, right?"

Where's he going for the ice, Antarctica? He'll be gone for two minutes. Of course she'll be fine.

Selena nods. "There's a extra key over there somewhere."

"Thanks," he says, sliding it into his pocket. He squeezes her calf before he leaves.. "I'll be right back."

She ends up falling asleep accidentally and when she wakes up it's later -- not a lot later, it's still kind of light out, the sun's setting, casting the room in a weird glow -- but the movie's over and some sports highlight show is on instead. Selena must've shifted, too, because she somehow started using David as a pillow. She doesn't even remember him sitting on the bed. Huh. Must've been when he got back. Wow. She must've passed dead out. Yikes.

She stretches and realizes David's got an arm is around her shoulders. Everywhere else on her body is cold except for the parts that are touching him and it's... She wonders if it's a dream at first. Because she's had this one before, not that she likes to talk about it.

She pushes herself up a little. David shifts his gaze from the TV to her and he looks weird, kind of out of it, sleepy and not. They're really close right now, all splayed out on her bed. It'd be real easy to kiss him. She doesn't think it would be weird.

The air's crackling between them, heavy with humidity and something else. David won't stop staring at her and Selena feels like she can't breathe, like someone's sitting on her chest.

She closes her eyes and pushes away from him and it passes.

**

"So then I won a couple hundred bucks."

"Yeah, but how much did you lose?" Jake asks.

David makes a face and both Selena and Jake crack up.

"I don't know," Selena says, squinting into the sun. "Blackjack just seems so boring."

She throws the frisbee to David. "That's just because you suck at math."

She sticks out her tongue. He laughs and throws the frisbee to Jake, who says, "I like craps."

David and Selena both make faces. "You just like saying 'craps,'" says David.

Jake grins. "Yup."

The frisbee gets caught in the wind, sailing higher and farther than it should. Jake jogs after it. Selena catches herself staring at David, at his arms and his tattoo and the way his tank top is --

"Hey." David whistles and waves his hand. Selena blinks. Crap. "Blinded by my hotness."

"Yeah, that's it," she says dryly. She takes a few steps closer to him. "You're burning. You should put more sunscreen on." She hooks her fingers in his shirt and pulls it aside slightly. David twists his head so he can see the fresh tan lines.

"Ouch," Jack says. Selena drops her hand hurriedly. She feels like he just caught them doing something even though it was totally nothing. "You should go inside, dude."

David nods. "Apparently. Thanks. You guys gonna?"

"Nah," Jake says as Selena shakes her head.

David leaves and she snags the frisbee from Jake and points down the beach. "Bet I can get it past that stripey umbrella."

"You're on."

**

"Winner winner, chicken dinner!"

Selena looks up from her book. David's got two hundred bucks all fanned out. "Again?"

Apparently he's some sort of blackjack savant. His record so far is two grand.

He grins and tilts his head. "C'mon, let's go get... something, I don't know."

"Money to burn?"

"Exactly. Come on."

"I have homework," she says, gesturing to the stuff on her desk.

David scoffs. "Sel. You're in _Puerto Rico_. I think homework can wait." He sighs. "Come on, don't make me go alone."

Which is how they end up at the Plaza del Mercado downtown, eating ice cream and trying on all the sunglasses and hats they come across. Well, Selena tries everything on. David mostly stands behind her and tells her how stupid each hat looks.

"I like this one," she says, checking her reflection. "You should buy it for me."

"How about no," he says. She pouts at him in the mirror until he sighs. "Fine."

"Yay!" She spins around and throws her arms around him. "Oh my god, this is my new favorite thing already. You're the best!"

"Yeah," he says, knocking the brim so the fedora tips down her forehead. "And don't you forget it."

**

"I didn't think it actually rained this much," she says one morning when they're huddled under a tent, trying to wait out yet another storm.

"That's why it's called a _rainforest_, Selena, duh," David says.

"Shut up."

"Make me."

Selena's too cold to move, though. She pulls the blanket tighter around her shoulders and frowns at him really hard. David laughs and reaches out to tweak the ends of her hair. They both got caught in the downpour in the middle of their scene and she's going to have to spend at least half an hour getting her hair and makeup redone before they can go again. David's hair is already dry. Her frown deepens.

"Oooh, Grumplestiltskin."

Selena laughs despite herself. When she bumps him with her shoulder he wraps his arm around her, pulling her against his side. They stay like that until Lev comes over and tells them they're going to try it again, but quick in case it rains.

Which it does. A lot. Enough that Lev sighs and sends them all packing well before they're done. "It's not worth it," he says, "We'll try again tomorrow. Thanks for trying."

Selena's shivering and still dripping wet by the time they get home. She and David walk back to their rooms together, their flip flops making that annoying wet, squeaking sound that echoes through the hallways and makes her wince. Her room's first and David pauses while she unlocks the door.

"Wanna hang out?" he asks.

She can hear the rain pounding down outside still. There's no end in sight. "Sure," she says.

"Cool. I'll come down?"

She nods and heads inside, straight for the shower. When she gets out, David's there, waiting, like some creeper. She nearly jumps out of her skin when she sees him.

"Holy shit. How did you even get in here?"

"I still had your spare." He shrugs. "From when you were sick."

She eyes him warily, even though it makes total sense. Thank god she's dressed.

"I knocked first," he says. "And then I yelled to you. But you were too busy --"

"Oh my god, shut up."

"Singing. When you're faaaaalling down, down, down. Is that gonna be your single? 'Cause it's pretty catchy. Down, down, down."

"Shut _up_," she says, hitting him in the shoulder. He keeps singing, laughing and trying to fight her off while she laughs and tries to get him to shut up. Her hair's still wet, dripping all over her shirt, getting flecks of water on his, too.

"Oh my god, _David_," she whines, still laughing. "Stop it." She shoves him once, right when he's off-balance. He goes flying backwards, grabbing for her as he falls, taking her down with him. They end up in a heap on her bed, breathless but still laughing.

And then suddenly neither of them is laughing. It's like that time when she was sick all over again; David's watching her carefully and the air feels heavy, suffocating. He blinks and licks his lips and then he kisses her. Or she kisses him, she doesn't know, it all happens so fast. One second they're goofing around, totally normal, and the next David's licking at the seam of her lips and his hands are skimming under the hem of her threadbare tank top. She fleetingly thinks she should've put on nicer clothes.

Selena doesn't care, though. It's good, it feels _good_ and she hasn't kissed anybody since Nick which was forever ago. She presses closer to David, as close as she can, so she can feel the way his abs twitch, tiny muscle contractions every time her hands skate over his skin.

"Hey," he says after a minute, or a lot of minutes, who knows. His lips are red and shiny. Selena can't stop looking at them. "Is this -- is this okay? Because we can --"

"No," Selena says, leaning in to kiss his jaw. "It's good. I'm good."

**

It's like a snowballing chain reaction, like they opened floodgates and now that they made out once they make out all the time. It's not something they sat down and talked about, it's just something that keeps happening. Selena knows that they should stop spending so much time alone together and then it'll stop happening, but she's not sure that's what she wants.

Okay, that's a lie. It's the exact opposite of what she wants. Whatever. They both just got out of relationships and they're in really weird places right now and whatever, it doesn't _mean_ anything. It's totally casual. She ignores the part of her brain that tells her this can't end well.

"We're going to be late," she gasps out between kisses. Grabbing his t-shirt tight in her fists isn't doing much to push him away, though. Oh well.

**

David rolls them over so Selena's on top of him, her hair falling around their faces like a curtain. He tucks some of it behind her ear.

It's the same scene, different day. Not that she's complaining. It's raining all the time lately, and all there is to do is shop and watch TV and do her homework. This beats all those things easy.

David licks at her lips until she opens her mouth. She shifts and her knee brushes against his hard-on; his hips jerk up and he groans into her mouth. She can feel it all the way down to her toes. She moves her knee again, deliberately this time. David groans and then pulls away, panting.

"Hey," he says, settling his hands on her hips. "We don't have to."

Selena pauses. "What if I want to?"

David closes his eyes and laughs real dryly, like it's a stupid question. "You know what I mean," he says, staring up at her.

He waits for her to nod before he curls a hand around her neck and pulls her down to kiss her again. No pressure, Selena thinks, kissing him back. She likes it.

**

"Hey, can I see something?" he asks, _after_ he steals her laptop.

"I was _working_."

David ignores her and squints at the screen. All Selena can see is boring car parts. God, she hopes he doesn't start talking about his stupid car again. She hates that thing, with it's baller horsepower and it's badass six-point-one demi or hemi or jemi or whatever it is he won't shut up about. She hates it and she's never even _seen_ it.

"Goddamn, I can't see shit with this glare," he complains. He reaches over and steals her hat, too. Right off her head.

"That's mine!"

"Um, who bought it?"

"You," she sulks.

"That's what I thought."

"That's what I thought," she parrots back obnoxiously. When he rolls his eyes she sticks her tongue out at him.

"Hey," hey says, pointing at her. "Use it or lose it, Gomez."

She sticks her tongue out again. "Make me."

He closes her computer, carefully sets it on the empty chaise lounge next to him, and then lunges for her. She yelps and leaps up. The concrete is hot under her feet as she runs away from him, ducking around pool furniture, laughing and shrieking.

"No running," David yells behind her, right before she dives in. She opens her eyes underwater just in time to see him jump in. Selena tries to swim away but the pools tiny and his arms are so freaking long compared to hers that it's not really a contest. He gets her ankle first and uses it to reel her in.

"I win!" he crows, bracing his arms on either side of her, trapping her between his body and the wall. "And that means _you_ are the loser. Winner," he pokes himself in the chest and then her, "Loser."

He keeps gloating and when Selena can't take it anymore -- which admittedly doesn't take very long -- she hooks her ankle around his and uses it to pull them closer together, so that they're flush against each other. She rolls her hips the tiniest bit and David seems to lose his train of thought.

"Were you saying something?" she asks, eyebrow arched.

David slides his arm around her waist and leans in. "It wasn't that important." When he kisses her, his mouth is warm, a sharp contrast to the cool water. Selena shivers.

"Someone could see," she whispers. David kisses her jaw, the corner of her mouth.

"No one's here." He slides closer still and she can feel him half-hard against her stomach. Everything is so slippery like this; they keep drifting apart and coming back together. Like magnets, she thinks, only instead of colliding everything is calm. The sun beats down on her shoulders. David's hand spans her ribcage; he runs his thumb along the underside of her breast, right underneath her bathing suit, and she can't keep the sigh from escaping her mouth. She can feel him grinning against her lips.

Their legs are all tangled up together, they're barely dressed and outside in broad daylight and somehow it's the stupidest, greatest thing she's ever done.

**

Selena's asleep when someone starts knocking on her door. She ignores it at first, hoping it'll go away. It doesn't.

She stumbles out of bed, grumbling. When she sees it's David making faces into the peephole, she yanks the door open.

He stumbles. Apparently he'd been leaning against the door. She catches him and they both stagger back.

"David! It's like, two-thirty!" she hisses, trying to shove him back upright. It's nearly impossible.

"So?" He blinks. His eyes are all unfocused and he smells like beer and pineapple juice and sweat. "I missed you."

"Come on." She sighs and drags him inside. "Just... Be quiet. My mom and Brian are right next door."

David holds his finger up to his lips and says, "Shhhhh" in a totally normal tone of voice.

Selena covers her face with her free hand. "Oh my god."

David stumbles across the room and throws himself face-down on her bed.

"_David_," she starts, her hands pushing at his hip and his shoulder to get him to roll over.

He does, and then he's flat on his back staring up at her. "Iiiiiiiii," he says, dragging it out. And then he closes his eyes and stops.

Selena waits for a minute, and then another. Crap. He better not have passed out. She pokes him in the ribs and his eyes fly open.

"What?" He has the nerve to sound annoyed. Sometimes she really hates him. Well, not really, but. Whatever. She sits down next to him.

"What are you doing here?"

David watches her quietly for a minute, like he's finally figured out how to make his eyes focus on something. He reaches up and cups her cheek with one hand, his thumb brushing over her bottom lip. Selena's breath catches in her throat. She can hear David swallow. He closes his eyes again.

"I am drunk," he announces, dropping his hand.

Selena bites her lip, hard. "No shit, Sherlock."

David smirks, laughing silently. His eyes are still shut. Selena smiles.

"Well did you have fun at least?" she asks, even though she's pretty sure she knows the answer.

He nods like a bobble-head doll. "Bikini contest, woooo!"

"Shhhh."

"Shhhh," he mimics, his voice getting quieter and quieter until he's not making any noise at all. He stays quiet for a real long time, until his breathing starts to even out.

"Hey, no, get up," Selena says, poking him again. She grabs his wrists and pulls him up. He whines but goes with her, like an overgrown rag doll. "You have to go back to your room, come on."

It's easier once he's on his feet. He throws his arm over her shoulders and she loops hers around his waist and makes sure to walk very carefully all the way down the hall.

He falls into his bed just as easily as he fell into hers. She's pretty sure he's out before the door's shut. Selena sets a glass of water on his nightstand and checks that the alarm on his phone is on so he makes it to set on time, and then she leaves, calling goodnight over her shoulder.

David just snores.

**

"Morning," David says, his voice hoarse. Selena takes one look at him and starts laughing. He frowns and then winces. "Shut up."

"Rough night?" she asks cheerfully. David glares again, clutching his coffee like it's the only thing keeping him alive. "Sorry," she says, resting her head on his shoulder. "Hey, at least you smell better now. Less like a bar."

David doesn't say anything. He rests his cheek on her head. She can feel him breathing, slow and steady, like he's trying to hold himself together.

**

Jake's the one who shows her the pictures, five whole seconds after they're posted on TMZ. She looks at them for what feels like forever, David and some barely-dressed girl. Gross.

"I don't -- why are you even looking at that?" Selena says, pushing the computer away. She doesn't want to see it.

Jake shrugs and leaves, taking his laptop with him. Selena sits there for a while longer, trying to sort through it all. It makes her sad, for some lame reason. Sad and a little pissed. But whatever. This is supposed to be her break from all the stupid drama back home. She refuses to get caught up in it here. She knew going in they were both just having fun, that they both rebounding and kind of using each other but that's fine. It's good.

They're having fun. She's not going to let some stupid drunken whatever stop that.

**

"It wasn't anything, we were just dancing, those pictures make it look so much worse."

"I know," she says. "It's fine. I don't care."

David makes a face like he doesn't believe her.

"Seriously, it's fine. This is -- " she waves her arm between them, "It's not like we're dating or anything. Don't worry about it. It's fine."

She kisses him to prove how fine with it she is, the table between them digging uncomfortably into her ribs. He kisses her back and then pulls away. He studies her for a beat. "So we're cool?"

"Yeah," she says. "We're cool."

He exhales like there's a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. Weirdly, Selena feels a lot better, too.

**

She's out sunbathing on her balcony when he lets himself in one afternoon. She doesn't even know he's there until she hears his phone's tell-tale camera shutter sound.

"Chuckle time!" he says happily. Selena sits up, clambering off the chair and chasing him into the room, grabbing for the phone.

"David, do not put that on Twitter, I swear to god I will _kill you_." He tries to jump over the bed but trips and she throws herself on top of him, wrestling the phone out of his hands. She pins his legs down with her knees and twists away from his arms so she can delete the picture.

"Ha ha!" she cheers when it's gone. And then she feels a tug as David unties her bathing suit top.

"Ha ha!" he echoes.

Selena freezes for a second and then she decides fuck it. This is Puerto Rico, this is what they're doing. She can roll with that. She lets it fall off her shoulders and watches David's eyes go wide and dark.

She grins and then he's sitting up and kissing her. His hands are everywhere, running over whatever skin he can touch. It's almost enough to make her dizzy. When he ducks his head and sucks her nipple she gasps and digs her fingers into his scalp. She's pretty sure she can feel him grinning against her skin.

She pushes his shirt up until he gets the hint and pulls it all the way off. She lets him lay her down on the bed, sighing as kisses her neck, her chest, the dip in her collarbone. everywhere. She scratches her nails down his back, feels the goosebumps that rise up in their wake. David grinds his hips and she rocks hers up, a knee-jerk reaction. She gasps when he does it again. He starts to slide his fingers into the waistband of her bathing suit bottoms and then he pauses.

"Is this?" His voice is rough. "Sel?"

She nods and he slides them down her legs. He kisses the inside of her knee and just when she starts to get nervous he's kissing her again, muttering something against her lips that she can't quite understand. Her breath catches when he slides a finger into her, then two. His thumb grazes her and she whimpers, arching into him. David groans and bites her lip and does something that makes her vision go white around the edges. Selena feels like everything that's been coiled tight inside her, everything that's been building for months, is going to fly apart.

**

She calls Demi that night and tells her everything.

"Well are you going to sleep with him? Like, eventually?"

Selena thinks about it. "I don't think so," she says eventually. "It's not like that."

"Okay." Demi hesitates for a second. "Because it sounds kind of like that."

"It's not." Selena fiddles with her ring. She thinks of her mom, asleep in the next room. The lights of a boat blink like a warning along the horizon.

"Okay," Demi says, more sure this time.

They're quiet for a long time. Selena watches the stars. They're so much brighter here than in LA. A lot of things are different here. It makes everything feel a little less real, like her actual life is on pause and everything that happens here is... not fake, just. Different.

**

"Oh my god, you look disgusting," she says. David scratches his cheek and dried mud flakes off. She makes a face. She knows it's for the scene, but still. "Gross."

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad." He waggles his eyebrows until she laughs.

"It could be worse," she concedes, tugging on the towel he has wrapped around his neck.

"Selena!" he tries to look scandalized as he yells loud enough that the entire crew hears. "Stop hitting on me. I don't care how hot I look right now, we're WORKING."

Everyone laughs when she socks him in the shoulder. She doesn't think they notice the blush creeping into her cheeks.

"You're such a jerk."

"You love me," he says. She scoffs but it's hard to hide her smile. David shakes his head. "And you call yourself an actress."

"Um, who here was nominated for a Kids Choice Award? Oh, that's right."

"I hope you get slimed."

"So do I," she says earnestly. He cracks up. "What? I'm serious."

"No, I know," he says, sobering up. "I just --" he trails off and then they're just standing there, all up in each other's personal space. She can see his super-faint sunglasses tan across the bridge of his nose, where the dirt and makeup are slowly wearing away.

David swallows and there's a moment where she thinks he's going to kiss her. Her heartbeat kicks up.

But then David clears his throat and takes a step back. He snags his phone off his chair. "Here, let's take a picture for Twitter."

She leans in. He snaps it right before she kisses his cheek. It's just something she felt like doing. When he turns to her he looks a little shocked. Selena shrugs.

She pokes him in the chest and nods to his phone. "Don't write anything weird."

David nods, laughing.

**

"Hey." David digs his chin into her shoulder, moves his jaw back and forth.

"_Ow_." She tries to roll away but he locks his arm around her, holding her fast.

"I'm bored," he says, once she gives up and stops fighting him. "Your music's shitty. You don't even have any Weezy on here. I feel like I've failed you."

Selena tries not to roll her eyes. There are literally a billion things for him to do here. It's not like she forced him to come squeeze his stupid ass into the lounge chair she was already laying in. She only gave him her iPod so he'd stop reading parts of her book out loud to her in robot voices. That was the kind of thing that was funny for ten minutes and then got old real fast.

"Seleeeeena." She shuts her book.

"Let's go out somewhere," she suggests. "You have your thousand dollars --"

"Two thousand."

"Your two thousand dollars to blow. Let's, I don't know. Do something. We can get lunch."

He makes a face. "So now I have to spend my hard-earned winnings on _you_?"

"Yeah, your gambling money was real hard-earned." She bumps her knee into his leg. "Come on. It'll be fun. And then you can stop complaining about your Puerto Rican diet. Everybody wins!"

David tilts his head, considering. All he's been eating lately is peanut butter on crackers and whatever's at craft services. She's pretty sure he's game for a real meal.

He kisses the spot on her shoulder where his chin had been.

"Alright, let's go." He slaps her thigh. "Up up up. I'm starving."

"You were fine two minutes ago."

"Yeah, and then _someone_ started talking about food, so." He holds out his hands. She lets him pull her to her feet.

**

Demi sends her an email later in the week.

_still having fun?_ is the subject line. The only thing inside is _xoxo_ and a link to some paparazzi shots from her and David at dinner last week.

Selena rolls her eyes. _yes_ she types back. And then, for extra measure, _how's joe?_.

She hits send and closes her email. She hovers over the X on the pictures for a minute before she closes them, too. She pretends she never read the _Cute Couple Alert!_ headline. They're leaving in like, a week, so it doesn't matter, anyway.

**

David has friends coming to visit for the last few days. It's a good thing, she thinks. It'll be like a transition period, the two of them shifting back into normal mode before they get back to LA and then she has to go to Canada.

Plus, Jenn's getting in tomorrow, too. Selena's excited to finally have another girl around.

"Thanks," David says, looking offended.

"Shut up, I didn't mean it like that."

He catches her wrist and tugs her towards him, pulling her onto his lap so he can kiss her.

"I'm going to miss Puerto Rico," he says eventually, resting his forehead against hers.

"Their bikini contests _were_ pretty great."

David groans. "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

"Nope," she says gleefully. "I mean, you're not going to be like, 'bikini contest, ewww.'"

David sighs, annoyed, and then kisses her hard, like he's trying to shut her up. His hands slide under her legs and then he stands up. Selena makes a surprised noise in the back of her throat and hooks her legs around his waist so he can walk them both across the room. It's inexplicably hot, how easily he moves. Like she's nothing at all.

She bounces when she hits the bed and he crawls over her, pushing her top up and kissing her stomach. It tickles. His tongue dips into her bellybutton; she bites her lip and clutches at his t-shirt. Her nails accidentally dig into the nape of his neck and he moans a little.

"David," she says, pulling him up so she can kiss him some more. She pulls his shirt off, traces her fingers over the tattoo on his shoulder. She feels like she knows the lines by heart now.

Everything about it feels final. One last hurrah. She slides her hand into his boxers and listens to his breath stutter. David drops his head onto her shoulder, his lips grazing her collarbone.

Their chests are pressed together; she can feel his heart beating. It's almost in sync with hers.

**

Selena had steeled herself for being sadder. She's not, though. It's a little weird but she's gonna like, start crying into her script or anything.

"Morning," someone says, and when Selena looks up, David and Brandon are standing there holding plates of food.

"Hey," she says, trying not to sound surprised.

"Brandon just got in this morning. He wanted to see how filming was going," David says, nodding his head towards Brandon.

Selena narrows her eyes. "Or maybe he just wanted a breakfast that wasn't the Henrie Puerto Rican diet?"

"That one," Brandon says, pointing at her. She laughs and clears her stuff off the chair next to her so he can sit down. David drags his own chair over; he sets it across from her and kicks his feet up onto her chair like always.

Brandon looks down at his plate, saying something about bacon being a cure for jet lag. David catches Selena's eye and smiles. It feels private, somehow. Selena smiles back and then busies herself with her script. Something inside her flutters and settles.

**

"Oh, so I ran into Nick a week or so ago," Jenn says. She chews on her straw and tries to make it look like she's not carefully watching Selena's reaction.

"How was he?"

Jenn shrugs. "You know," she makes a super-serious face, "Nick."

Selena laughs loudly. It's a pretty good impression.

"Do you miss him?" Jenn asks, once they're done cracking up.

Selena squints at the shoreline and thinks about it. She hasn't thought about him much at all lately. She thinks back to the winter, when she was so blah all the time, vaguely uncomfortable in her own skin. And then she thinks about David and all the stupid stuff they did together, watching dumb movies and shopping, running her lines for Ramona and just hanging out all the time. It was fun. And kind of restorative, like movies always say these things would be.

Jenn pokes Selena with the end of her straw. When Selena looks over, she's got her eyebrows raised expectantly.

"No," Selena says.

Jenn nods. "Good." She kicks her feet up onto the balcony railing. "So what'd you guys do this whole time?"

Selena tips her head back against the lounge chair. "Not much."

"Fun."

"Yeah." Selena smiles. The sun is hot on her face. "It really was."


End file.
